The Beatles’ iconic Abbey Road was never meant to end with Her Majesty, but did thanks to an “accident” in the studio.
Originally a bridge between Mean Mr. Mustard and Polythene Pam, the short snippet relating to Queen Elizabeth II, sung by Paul McCartney, was instead used for after The End. Though meant for the side two medley, it was later cut from the running order and not included, until the leftover tape was stuck to the end of the record. It proved a nice surprise for the Fab Four, who were unaware Her Majesty had been added to The End.
While McCartney was keen on dropping Her Majesty, tape operator John Kurlander was reportedly told not to throw out any leftover recordings from the band. Instead, he held onto it and stuck it to the end of the edit tape. Speaking on the mix in The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions, Kurlander says McCartney had wanted to throw the track away.
But Kurlander instead added it to the print, adding: “I’d been told never to throw anything away, so after he left I picked it up off the floor, put about 20 seconds of red leader tape before it and stuck it onto the end of the edit tape.” It led to one of the world’s first “hidden tracks,” an additional piece of music not listed on the tracklist. The Beatles’ subreddit saw fans debate whether Her Majesty was needed on the album.
One user suggested: “The End is a perfect ending to the album and to their body of work. It doesn’t just cap off the medley and the album, it caps off their time together, musically and lyrically. It’s an epic ending and I’ve always thought The Beatles made a mistake by throwing in another song after it.
“I’d be willing to bet that if we were in a different timeline where we were all accustomed to everything ending with The End, far more people would be upset at the idea of adding Her Majesty. It would be absolutely incomprehensible to us.” But according to another user the Fab Four were massive fans of how the album ended once Her Majesty had been added to the end.
Hot take: if Her Majesty had been moved or omitted from Abbey Road, we would all be horrified at the thought that the Beatles considered ending the album with it
byu/AssaultedCracker inbeatles
According to a user’s top comment, the four decided it was how the album should end and loved how it ended up there by accident. Another has since praised The Beatles as the “first band to include a hidden track on their album.”
A third user added: “The Beatles were all funny guys and comedy was a big part of their career. I think it pairs really nicely with The End as a reminder of the cheekier side, not that that wasn’t already present on Abbey Road with Maxwell’s Silver Hammer, Mean Mr. Mustard and Polythene Pam.”
Other fans of Abbey Road are just thankful Her Majesty ended up at the end of the album and not in its originally planned spot. One user wrote: “I kind of agree but at least they didn’t keep it in the middle of the medley. Between Mean Mr. Mustard and Polythene Pam? Outrageous!” Another added: “Honestly, I think Her Majesty is lovely, and I am impressed that it’s as good as it is with its minuscule length.”
